Concept

Medical ethics

Overview

Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. These values include the respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice. Such tenets may allow doctors, care providers, and families to create a treatment plan and work towards the same common goal. These four values are not ranked in order of importance or relevance and they all encompass values pertaining to medical ethics. However, a conflict may arise leading to the need for hierarchy in an ethical system, such that some moral elements overrule others with the purpose of applying the best moral judgement to a difficult medical situation. Medical ethics is particularly relevant in decisions regarding involuntary treatment and involuntary commitment.

There are several codes of conduct. The Hippocratic Oath discusses basic principles for medical professionals. This document dates back to the fifth century BCE. Both The Declaration of Helsinki (1964) and The Nuremberg Code (1947) are two well-known and well respected documents contributing to medical ethics. Beyond these milestones, both the development of hemodialysis in the 1960's and the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in 2022 made an impact on the history of medical ethics. In 1973, Roe v. Wade was passed and became legal under the Constitution of the United States. However, now the States hold the power to impose their own laws on access to abortion services. This reversal causes a conflict with moral judgment if a doctor should be legally punished for providing an abortion to save a patient's life. In the beginning stages of hemodialysis, initial concerns arose about the ethical reasoning behind choosing which patients were a priority in using hemodialysis due to the scarcity of equipment. These concerns evolved from scarcity to the dilemma of the contentious practice with patients who lack the decision-making mentality. Whether doctors should abandon treatment because of their behavioral issues, disregarding their life-or-death situations.

As this field continues to develop and change throughout history, the focus remains on fair, balanced, and moral thinking across all cultural and religious backgrounds around the world. The field of medical ethics encompasses both practical application in clinical settings and scholarly work in philosophy, history, and sociology.

Medical ethics encompasses beneficence, autonomy, and justice as they relate to conflicts such as euthanasia, patient confidentiality, informed consent, and conflicts of interest in healthcare. In addition, medical ethics and culture are interconnected as different cultures implement ethical values differently, sometimes placing more emphasis on family values and downplaying the importance of autonomy. This leads to an increasing need for culturally sensitive physicians and ethical committees in hospitals and other healthcare settings.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

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He shows it indirectly, by not hindering the doing of a thing; for what removes an impediment is called an accidental mover. In this respect the expression is called permission. He declares his will by means of another when he orders another to perform a work, either by insisting upon it as necessary by precept, and by prohibiting its contrary; or by persuasion, which is a part of counsel. Since in these ways the…
Aquinas Thomas, Summa Theologica, Part I
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It would seem, also, though this is more disputable, that there are some self-evident ethical principles, such as 'we ought to pursue what is good'. It should be observed that, in all cases of general principles, particular instances, dealing with familiar things, are more evident than the general principle. For example, the law of contradiction states that nothing can both have a certain property and not have it…
Bertrand Russell, The Problems of Philosophy
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Now the power and resolved purpose to resist a strong but unjust opponent is called fortitude (fortitudo), and when concerned with the opponent of the moral character within us, it is virtue (virtus, fortitudo moralis). Accordingly, general deontology, in that part which brings not external, but internal, freedom under laws is the doctrine of virtue.
Immanuel Kant, The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics
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